


Here's To Us

by AsagaoSylph



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Comfort, Fluff, Joyful, Little bit of Klance, M/M, New Year's Fluff, New Years, Platonic Cuddling, Smart Lance (Voltron), Sweet, Team as Family, Thank You Voltron, gratitude
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-01-01
Updated: 2020-01-01
Packaged: 2021-02-27 10:07:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,348
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22065247
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AsagaoSylph/pseuds/AsagaoSylph
Summary: “C’monnnnnnnnn!” Whined Pidge, smashing the two wires together as if that would magically connect them, and Lance gave a soft snort from where he was leaning against her back, tuning his space equivalent of a guitar.“Pidge, are you perchance the type that kicks TVs when they don’t turn on?” He teased, reaching over to twist the metal together. “‘Cause I’m pretty sure that only works in spy movies.”“Shut up, Lance,” grumbled Pidge, relinquishing her hold on the cables.
Relationships: Coran & Lance (Voltron), Keith/Lance (Voltron), Lance & Pidge | Katie Holt, Pidge | Katie Holt & Voltron Paladins
Comments: 16
Kudos: 152





	Here's To Us

“C’monnnnnnnnn!” Whined Pidge, smashing the two wires together as if that would magically connect them, and Lance gave a soft snort from where he was leaning against her back, tuning his space equivalent of a guitar.

“Pidge, are you perchance the type that kicks TVs when they don’t turn on?” He teased, reaching over to twist the metal together. “‘Cause I’m pretty sure that only works in spy movies.”

“Shut up, Lance,” grumbled Pidge, relinquishing her hold on the cables.

She had been working on this for well over three vargas, and she was pretty sure that the only reason she was still sane at this point were Lance’s periodic chatter and songs. He had arrived half a varga in, dragged her latest scheme out of her, and refused to leave her to do it on her own because _awwwwwwwwwwww, doesn’t the sweet wittle gwemlin want company?_ As it turned out, the “sweet wittle gwemlin” wanted murder, which Lance found out the hard way. That was probably why he had carefully positioned himself where she couldn’t hit or throw anything at him.

“There! All done!” Cheered Lance, placing the intertwined wires in her hands again and throwing a wink her way. “No problem for the intrepid LanceyLance!”

“In that case, maybe the _intrepid LanceyLance_ should take over this stupid operation!” Growled Pidge, slapping the cables against the floor and folding her arms sharply as she fell back against her friend.

Lance’s eyebrow rose, forehead crinkling, and Pidge bit her lip to keep from screaming as his blue eyes scanned her like a cat inspecting their human. Logically, she knew this wasn’t even a big deal; that’s why it was ticking her off! She should be able to do this! It was really simple mechanics and wave technology that required a fine-tuning of their radio output to compliment the input of the transmissions from Earth so that the waves amplified one another instead of cancelling out or just flat-out short-circuiting the system or falling off-stream! Not a big deal! But nooooooooooo, this stupid system just _refused_ to align with these waves and she couldn’t get it to _listen to her_!

“I mean, sure!” Chirped Lance, strumming a particularly sweet chord on the guitar and smirking over his shoulder at Pidge. “If you want to die in an electrical fire, I could totally take over! But the real tragedy is that you would die in silence and not get to hear these sick tunes!”

He pressed three fingers to the strings and ran the pick over them at the perfect angle for it to snap out of his fingers. Lance squawked, fumbling for the tiny triangle of plastic bouncing off his arms in the air, and Pidge snickered behind him.

“Yeah, Lance, sick as Hunk in the simulator,” she teased. “Fine, I’ll keep at it. It’s just an obnoxious system trying to work with an obnoxious and _semi-magical system_!”

“Oh! If you’re trying to work with Castle tech, that I can help with!” Said Lance, wriggling around to peer over her shoulder. “Coran taught me how to operate most of the systems, and I kind of just figured out the rest. You want to align wavelengths, right?”

Pidge held up her screen, grasping for any semblance of support at this point despite her stubborn refusal to tell the rest of the crew. It was bad enough that Lance knew already; he was the one she had most wanted to do this for, had most wanted to surprise with a slice of the home he so longed to see again.

“Yeah, these are the ones coming at us from Earth, and I’m not sure how to adjust the angle so they don’t end up short-circuiting half this cursed Castle’s power system!”

Lance let out a snorting laugh, spinning the prototype Pidge had pulled up so she could run simulations without actually risking any damage to the Castle. His eyes sparkled from the light off the screen, and Pidge felt the titanium coil of tension in her stomach slowly begin to loosen. She knew that look. It was the same one he got every time Allura insisted he run a shooting simulation, the shine glinting off his eyes right as he flicked his bayard into his hand and blitzed the gladiators or drones or both in ticks. It was the look he wore when he threw himself to his stomach and began sniping down sentries, his shots ripping through any robot that dared get close to his team. It was the look that Pidge trusted more than she trusted Keith to come if she offered him a new knife. So she leaned back and observed, slowly breathing out as she took in the boy before her.

Pidge wasn’t exactly a…people person, but she was a family person. And Lance reminded her of Matt to a scary degree sometimes. She could practically feel the homesickness pouring off him, settling over his cocoa skin like a second layer, sliding through the air with each exuberant movement, seeping into his eyes like unfallen tears. And Pidge wasn’t sure how to help; she just threw herself into her projects and worked until she couldn’t think, fighting off the sleep that housed so many nightmares for her overstimulated brain. But she knew that wasn’t Lance’s way.

So she did what she could. She dragged him off to play video games, she gave him her headphones and invited him to flop over her while she worked on projects, she chattered about her family and gave him room to soak in the memories of his siblings’ karaoke nights, his mother’s perpetual smell of oil from fixing the car, his abuela’s cooking, his abuelo’s pranks, and his niece and nephew’s tall tales from school. Pidge had even created an extension of the sprinkler system so her space brother could go and “water the planetarium” while throwing up his arms and dancing through the rain like he always had as a child. Sometimes, Pidge could catch him singing if she was lucky.

“Here!” Suggested Lance, flicking the screen a full 540° and sitting back. “This might work; I recalibrated the frequency from the Castle a bit. It’s not going to mess with any systems within the Castle itself, but it should match the frequency at least. Still figuring out the wavelength.”

Pidge typed in the angles and ran the simulation, Lance peering over her shoulder like an owl, and she leaned back into his warmth.

“Thank quiznak you can modulate the Castle’s waves; that’s way outside my jurisdiction!” Cried Pidge, pumping her fists into the air as the numbers matched. “Now we just have to correct wavelengths for this and over a dozen other planets’ waves, and we should be able to get the messages up for everyone!”

“Sweet!” Cheered Lance, holding his hand up for a high-five. “……Wait, did you just say over a _dozen_?!”

“Better keep your focus, Sharpshooter,” replied Pidge, grinning as she inputted the wavelengths optimal for amplification and shoved the computer back at her partner-in-crime, “because you’ve got a lot of shots that have to hit dead center!”

Lance drew up his mouth, snatching the computer from Pidge and dropping it into his lap as he began calibrating the system at a speed that drew a slight whistle from the Green Paladin.

“Not a problem, Pidgey!” Declared Lance as his friend leaned back against him, knees pulled up to her chest and head tipped back. “Just sit back and let the Tailor thread these needles!”

“You have _got_ to be KIDDING ME!” Screeched Pidge, shaking the computer like a baby rattle while Lance dragged his hands down his face and glared at the clock mocking them as it neared midnight; they had been at this for five vargas now. “RUN THE STUPID SIMULATION, YOU PILE OF DENTED BOLTS AND SCREWS!”

Lance flopped onto his back and let out a sound just shy of a wail.

“Piiiiiiiiiiiidge, we’ve got all of it except for that one figured out; maybe we should let the computer take a break so it doesn’t full-on crash and wipe all our progress?” He recommended, pressing the heels of his hands to his eyes.

How did she do this all day?! He had been in front of the computer for barely two vargas and his head was already aching from the harsh light and tiny black squiggles everyone liked to call numbers. Plus, math always had and would suck. Physics was cool; math was not.

“But we’re so close!” Whined Pidge, smacking the side of the keyboard. “We ran _so many calibrations_! And it’s…this is important, Lance.”

Lance turned, eyebrows knitting together as he studied the small girl, arms folded and pressed into her stomach as if trying to crush some unknown foe within. He sat up slowly, resting his elbows on his knees, and waved his friend closer. Pidge sighed, tossing her computer onto the bean bag they had been sharing, and flopped down between his knees to lean back against his chest. His arms folded around her, wrapping her in a cocoon of warmth and the faintest smell of salt water. Pidge snuggled further in.

“You going to tell me what’s going on in that brain of yours, Pidgeon?” Asked Lance, rocking back and forth and tipping the smaller girl along with him. “Or am I going to try and guess only to annoy you into telling me with how bad my guesses are?”

Pidge snorted quietly, the tension draining from her shoulders in his hold, and she tipped her head back to look up at the lanky boy.

“I guess I just……we’ve all been through _so much_ this decaphoeb. It’s been so insane and yeah, a lot was great, but we had to deal with so much quiznakery!” Snapped Pidge, arms slashing at the air and just narrowly avoiding clobbering Lance’s nose. “We had to leave so much behind and step into these totally new roles and I just! I don’t want us to lose everything we were when we’re up here.”

Pidge sighed, shaking her head. “I don’t want us to abandon being human just because we’re not on Earth. And I don’t want us to forget that we’re…we’re doing all this for a reason. We’ve already done so much good and we…well, we lose track of that really quickly because there’s so much left to do.”

Lance chuckled, remembering Allura’s speech about complacency just last movement. Pidge definitely had a point there, and the smaller girl wasn’t even done talking yet. “And that’s not healthy. I mean, it’s _really_ not healthy. Even _I_ go back over my code and cheer about what I’ve managed to get done; I don’t want everyone to just forget that we’re…heroes. We’re heroes to _so many people_. And that’s a good thing. It’s not all work and expectations and _gosh-what-could-I-have-done-better_.”

Pidge sighed again, nestling against Lance and closing her amber eyes behind glasses that were far too big for her face. “Sometimes, being a hero can be just _fun_. Right?”

Lance grinned as the girl tipped her head back, gaze wide like a chipmunk, and he flicked her nose. “ _Lance_!” Protested Pidge, and the boy in question let out a shoulder-rocking laugh. “I’m being serious here!”

“Obviously it can be fun, Pidgeon!” Crowed Lance, ruffling her hair and pulling her into a tight, squishing hug. “That’s, like, half the point of being a hero! It’s to run around having fun and being awesome and inspiring everyone because if we’re quippy, we’re not scared. And if we’re not scared, then no one else needs to be. Because we’re there to protect them. Having fun comes with the job description of being a hero!”

“Okay okay, don’t go full All Might on me,” replied Pidge, rolling her eyes and shoving lightly at Lance’s shoulder. “I just want to remind everyone of that. You…you always remind me of that. Just by being around, you make this whole _space_ thing a lot more…I don’t know. You just—you make it better!”

Lance blinked harshly, fingers trembling against Pidge’s sleeve, and he buried his face into her shoulder as he curled tightly around the girl.

“Thanks, Pidge,” he murmured. “That—that means a lot to me, especially coming from you.”

“All right, no mushiness!” Complained Pidge, shoving at him and grabbing at her computer. “We still have wavelengths and frequencies to compute, Castle Whisperer!”

“Oooooooooooooo, I like that one!”

“You would.”

“Hey! Gremlin!”

“You rang?”

“ _Pidge!_ ”

“What’s so important that you called us out here at midnight?” Asked Shiro, bags weighing heavy beneath his eyes as he shivered slightly in his paladin robe and slippers. “We have early morning training tomorrow.”

“Don’t worry, Shiro! I promise this will be worth it!” Guaranteed Pidge, one hand resting on the projection machine in front of her while Lance passed out cups of steaming space tea. “Lance and I have been working on this all quintant!”

“ _Why_?” Ground out Keith, and Pidge got the feeling he was asking more in a _can-I-stab-someone-for-waking-me-up?_ sense than a _why-have-you-been-working-on-this?_ or even _why-must-I-be-out-of-bed?_ sense.

She was also pretty sure that the only reason he didn’t snatch the cup out of Lance’s hand and pour it over their heads was that he was dating the blue-eyed wonder.

“Because it’s New Year’s Eve!” Chirped Lance, sliding behind Keith and capturing the grumpy paladin in a hug. “Back on Earth, we’re five dobashes away from the new year!”

Keith’s entire face went tomato red and he spluttered at the sudden embrace, immediately melting into it. Pidge smirked; no one could possibly resist one of Lance’s hugs. Plus, Keith nearly scalding his tongue on the space tea in his attempts to appear flippant was a pretty good bonus.

“Anyway, I guess it matches up with the end of the decaphoeb, so a bunch of planets have been sending us videos! Lance and I set up the Castle to play them leading up to the new year! Plus, we wired it to show off the fireworks that are launched back home when the ball drops!” Cheered Pidge, swinging around for a high-five from her conspirator as she pressed the _play_ button. “Enjoy this latest production by Plance Studios!”

Keith snickered, fist-bumping her while Lance spread an arm wide to invite her into the hug. Pidge was all too happy to curl up in the embrace and sink into the warmth and love of her team as the first message appeared on the screen.

“Paladins!” Cried Shay, her entire face lighting up as the camera started rolling. “Thank you so much! Because of you, our people now live out beneath the sky; we have begun counting the stars and sometimes I doubt we shall ever stop! We have begun trading with planets nearby and the Balmera is happier than any of us can remember! Hunk…you have done so much for us, we cannot thank you enough. When you have time, please come back; we have so many stories for all of you, and we would be more than happy to receive our saviors at any time! Thank you, Voltron!”

Hunk’s eyes watered, and Shiro put a hand on his shoulder while Allura’s grazed his back. Pidge felt her heart swell at the glow in her friend’s eyes. This was only the beginning.

“Because of you, our people are full and safe and happy for the first time in decaphoebs! Thank you, paladins!”

“Without you, the Olkari would have fallen to ignorance and tyranny. We cannot ever thank you enough for your efforts to save our society. Please, if you ever desire upgrades or technological trade, return to our planet; you shall be welcomed with open arms, particularly your Green Paladin. Deeply, and with all our hearts, thank you.”

“If it weren’t for Voltron, we would have lost all of our families! Thank you so much for freeing us, and for protecting us!”

“Were it not for the Blue and Yellow Paladins’ timely arrival, our people would still be being sacrificed to an unspeakable horror. You saved us, our society, and our future, and we are endlessly grateful. Thank you so much.”

“You have done so much for our people; the Puigians will never forget all that Voltron risked and sacrificed in order to liberate us. Your prowess will live on in our minds for generations! You are our heroes; please return if you ever have the chance so we can properly thank you! For now, just know that we are all beyond grateful! Thank you, Voltron!”

“Thank you so much, Voltron! We were convinced our planet was going to eat us alive; you showed us how to use it to our advantage and defeat the Galra on our own power! We shall never surrender again! Black and Red Paladins, thank you especially! We shall not give in!”

It continued on like that for dobashes, gratitude spilling off the screen in a flood that swirled around the paladins, wrapping them in a soft, golden glow that reached all the way down into their hearts. Pidge could feel it, could feel the tension blown away by the words of those they had saved, could feel the embers of the love her family had for being defenders of the universe kicked back into a raging rainbow of a firestorm. Shiro had tears sparkling in both wide, ash-colored eyes, and Allura had a hand pressed to her lips even as they both stood up straighter, as if trying to absorb and store the joy they saw on the screen, as if they knew this moment was fleeting and should be treasured. Hunk and Coran were clinging to one another, blubbering even as they carefully navigated so everyone around them could still see the screen at all times, so the kindness pouring out could go to all of them. Pidge felt a squeeze run through her hand—wait, since when had Lance taken her hand? Keith was trembling, as if he was going to be swept off his feet by the words, and Lance was clinging to him and Pidge like it was too much love for him to hold up under, like he and Keith weren’t smiling at the screen like it had given them their hearts back. And Pidge clung to Lance, the happiness washing over her in waves, and she knew she was crying, knew she was shaking, knew she was smiling, knew she was standing up straighter. She knew because she saw herself reflected in the joy of her family around her.

And when the fireworks exploded across the screen, welcoming in the new year, she would never forget the sheer love that they turned to look at her with.

“Thank you guys,” she said though, grinning as she cut off the inevitable words she could practically see on everyone’s minds; their joy was more than thanks enough. “Thanks for being worth fighting for.”

Lance tackled her in a hug, Keith barely a tick after his boyfriend, and then Hunk was lunging at her and Allura was—and Shiro and Cor—ack! Pidge gave a huff that had nothing to do with irritation and everything to do with the fact that _she couldn’t breathe!_ but honestly…she couldn’t complain about being dogpiled.

“Thank you guys for being so amazing!” Wailed Hunk.

“Thank you for your endless support and sacrifice,” whispered Allura.

“Thank you for your dedication and your bravery,” said Shiro.

“Thank you for your kindness and brilliance!” Declared Coran.

“Thanks for…for sticking around. For not leaving me,” murmured Keith.

“Thank you,” breathed Lance. “Thank you so much for being my space family.”

Pidge sank into the embrace, and let out a long, slow exhale. Yes. This was how it should be.

Because as much as they were heroes for defending the universe, they were also the dorkiest group of teenagers and aliens that had ever been a family, and, no matter what happened next, they would always be each other’s heroes.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy New Year's!
> 
> I own nothing!  
> My tumblr is at https://asagaosylph.tumblr.com/ :D


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